Snow plow wing

ABSTRACT

A snow plow wing for mounting at the side of a vehicle having a front mounted plow extends the width of the path plowed by the vehicle in its operating position and moves to a raised and retracted position when required. A vertical tubular mounting member is fixed to the vehicle. The member has oppositely positioned similar slots, each with a lower vertical portion and an upper portion extending angularly therefrom. A pin assembly connects the blade of the wing to the tubular member using the slots. When the blade is in the operating position a brace fixed to the back of the blade structure bears against an extension of the vehicle providing support against the snow load. As the blade is raised the lower portion of the slot guides it upwards until the brace is clear of the extension and the upper portion of the slot then guides the blade around to its retracted position.

United States Patent [1 1 Renahan [451 Apr. 23, 1974 t SNOW PLOW WING [75] Inventor: A John W. Renahan, Willowdale,

' Ontario, Canada [22] Filed: Nov. 14, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 306,500

[52] US. Cl. 37/42 VL, 37/105, 172/794, 172/795 [51] Int. Cl. E0lh 5/04 [58] Field of Search..... 37/41, 30, 35, 42 R, 42 VL, 37/44, 46, 50, 105, 117.5; 172/782, 784,

3,252,716 5/1966 Gaterman 37/42 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,148,249 5/1963 Germany 37/42 R Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Eugene H. Eickholt Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Axel A. MacRae [5 7] ABSTRACT A snow plow wing for mounting at the side of a vehicle having a front mounted plow extends the width of the path plowed by the vehicle in its operating position and moves to a raised and retracted position when required. A vertical tubular mounting member is fixed to the vehicle. The member has oppositely positioned similar slots, each with a lower vertical portion and an upper portion extending angularly therefrom. A pin assembly connects the blade of the wing to the tubular member using the slots. When the blade is in the operating position a brace fixed to the back of the blade structure bears against an extension of the vehicle providing support against the snow load. As the blade is raised the lower portion of the slot guides it upwards until the brace is clear of the extension and the upper portion of the slot then guides the blade around to its retracted position.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SNOW PLOW WING lane on a road in one pass. This may be a width perhaps of the order of 12 feet. It is known to do this by using a single blade, of the scraper type normally mounted on the body of a vehicle such as a truck or grader. The disadvantage of this is, of course, that the vehicle becomes very cumbersome and cannot readily drive through traffic. It is thus not convenient to use. It is also known to use a plow on the front of a vehicle with a relatively large wing or extension on the side of the vehicle. This wing is hingedly mounted to the vehicle at the forward end, and two large arms extend from the blade to the vehicle to support and brace the outer end against the snow load. Frequently the outer end of this wing is supported by ohainsextending to structure on the vehicle.

The wing is usually raised or lowered by the chains, the

two armsbeing extended as required to brace the wing. This type of wing is-difficult to raise and lower, extend and retract, and the mechanism is relatively complex.

The present invention is for a snow plow wing that is readily raised and lowered, retracted and extended, and which is of relatively simple structure.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a snow plow wingthat has a simple structure and which uses only a single hydraulic cylinder to raise and retract the wing or lowerand extend the wing.

Very briefly, the present invention is for asnow plow wing for mounting at the side of a vehicle and it includes a tubular mounting member, for mounting vertically, with a slot having a lower substantially vertical portion and an upper portion extending angularly from the lower portion. A blade carrying frame has a bracket at one end with a pin assembly which rides in the slot and mounts the frame to the mounting member. The pin assembly can move in the slot so that the frame can be moved from a lower operating position where it is extended, vertically upward as guided by the vertically extending portion of the slot, and then moved upwards and rotated to a retracted position as guided by the angularly extending portion of the slot. A brace member is provided on the rear of the blade carrying frame which extends towards the vehicle when in the operating position bearing against the vehicle frame or an extension thereof. The brace supports the blade carrying frame against the snow load on the blade during plowing. When the blade is being moved from the operating position to the retracted position, it moves vertically upward until the brace clears the extension to the vehicle frame, as guided by the vertically extending position of the slot, and then it is free to rotate to the retracted position as guided by the angularly extending portion of the slot. A single hydraulic cylinder may be mounted within the tubular mounting member for raising and lowering the frame and blade.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of a vehicle with the snow plow wing according to the invention mounted on the side and in the raised or retracted position,

FIG. 2 is a simplified view of the vehicle with the snow plowwing in the lowered or extended operating position,

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the wing in its operating position,

FIG. 4 is a top view of the wing in its operating position, as viewed from the plane 4 4 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is an elevation of the tubular mounting member, partly in section, as taken along line 5 5 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the mounting member as taken along line 6 6 of FIG. 5. i

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a vehicle 10 with a snow plow wing 11 indicated generally and mounted on the side of vehicle 10. In FIG. I the snow plow wing 11 is shown in the raised or retracted position where it is substantially parallel to. the side of the vehicle. In FIG. 2 the snow plow wing 11 is shown in its operating position where the blade engages the surface of the road to extend the width of the plowed portion. There would, of course, be a conventional plow structure on the vehicle. The conventional plow does not form part of the invention and is not shown. The

snow plow wing may be mounted on either side and in practice is mounted on the side to which the main plow is throwing snow to extend the plowed area on that side.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4,. the frame of a vehicle, such as a truck is indicated at: 14. If necessary the frame of the vehicle must be extended to provide a frame member 14 required to engage the brace as will be explained hereinafter. If necessary an extending arm 15 may be welded or otherwise secured to the frame 14. A tubular mounting member 16 may be fastened to the frame 14, or to the extendingarm 15, as shown, so that it is substantially vertical. For convenience, the description will refer to the extension to the vehicle frame as meaning either the actual vehicle frame or the side extension. The position laterally of the tubular member 16 will be governed by the width of the front mounted plow so that the wing in its operating position extends the path plowed by the front mounted plow.

The tubular mounting member has oppositely positioned and identically shaped slots 17 and 18. The slots each have a lower vertically extending portion and an upper portion extending angularly therefrom. As the slots are identically shaped, only the slot 17 will be referred to in the specific description as slot 17 is more clearly seen in the drawings. In slot 17 the lower vertically extending portion is shown at 20 and the upper angularly extending portion is shown at 21. This is probably best seen in FIG. 5.

Still referring mainly to FIGS. 3 and 4, a wing blade 22 is carried by a blade carrying frame 23 which, as shown comprises a top member 24 and vertical members 25. The frame 23 has at one end a bracket 26 which has a pin assembly 27. The pin assembly includes a pin 28 which extends through slots 17 and 18. The pin assembly 27 secures the bracket 26 with the blade carrying frame 23 to the mounting member 16 so that the blade carrying frame 23 may move up and down in response to an applied force as guided by slots 17 and 18. The blade 22 may be provided, if desired, with a release arrangement which permits limited rearward movement if the blade strikes an obstacle. Such release arrangements are well known.

It will be apparent that a mounting could be provided which would involve only a single slot in the tubular mounting member, however the two slot arrangement as shown is preferred.

Referring for the moment to FIG. 6, the slots 17 and 18 in tubular member 16 are shown at the plane 6 6 of FIG. 5. The angle indicated as X represents the angular distance the blade supporting member and blade are rotated by the angular portion 20 of slot 17. In its operating position the wing is inclined rearwardly and consequently the angle through which the wing swings as it is raised will be less than 90.

Referring once more to FIGS. 3 and 4, a brace 31 is securely fastened to the blade carrying frame 23. In the embodiment shown, brace 31 is welded to frame 23. This brace 31 extends sideways towards the frame of the truck and has a supporting surface 32 which engages the extension 14 to the truck frame as shown in the drawings. This brace 31 thus supports the blade carrying frame and the blade against its working load. A spring 35 extends between a bracket 36 on blade carrying frame 23 and a flange 37 on member 16. The spring provides a downward force tending to hold the blade and blade carrying frame in the operating position and may be used to provide a greater surface engaging force to the blade. Holes 38 in bracket 36 provide means for adjusting spring tension and may also serve to adjust the place where the spring force is applied to adjust the balance of the blade 22.

Referring particularly to FIG. 5, a hydraulic cylinder 33 is shown within tubular member 16, mounted at its lower end by a pin 34 and having its upper end connected to pin 28. This hydraulic cylinder provides the only source of power to raise and lower the blade supporting frame and blade.

The operation of the snow plow wing will be apparent from the preceding description. When the snow plow is in its operating position, the blade 22 will be engaging the ground and the force of spring 35 will tend to bias the blade against the surface. The pin 28 of pin assembly 27 will be in the vertical portion 20 of slot 17, at or adjacent the lower end. The supporting surface 32 of blade 22 will bear against the extension of frame 14 of the truck or other vehicle. When it is desired to raise and'retract the blade, hydraulic pressure is applied to cylinder 33 from a source (not shown) causing the cylinder to extend. This raises pin 28, bracket 26, blade carrying frame 23 and blade 22 upwards until the brace 31 is above and clear of extension frame 14. The pin 28 then reaches the angular portion 21 of slot 17 and, as cylinder 33 continues to extend, the pin 28 is moved upwardly and is rotated. The blade carrying frame 23 and blade 22 are thus swung around into the retracted position, shown in FIG. 4 by broken line 40. When it is desired to lower and extend the blade, cylinder 33 is made to retract and the reverse movement takes place. The blade carrying frame 23 is positioned with attached brace 31 abutting frame 14 with the blade 22 normally engaging the surface to be plowed.

It is believed the. snow plow wing described is relatively simple in design, is relatively inexpensive, can be raised and lowered by a single source of power, and provides a means for extending the plowed area of a snow plow that can be readily retracted to make the snow plow more convenient to use in traffic.

I claim:

l. A snow plow wing comprising,

a tubular mounting member for fastening in a substantially vertical position to the side of a vehicle, said mounting member having in the wall thereof a slot with a lower vertically extending portion and an upper portion extending angularly therefrom,

a blade carrying frame having at one end a bracket,

said frame having a forward and a rearward side,

a pin assembly on said bracket extending through said slot and mounting said frame to said mounting member for movement in a generally vertical direction guided by said slot between lower position and an upper position,

a brace member of fixed orientation rigidly mounted to the rearward side of said blade carrying frame and extending towards an engageable portion of said vehicle and having a supporting surface for engaging said engageable portion of said vehicle when said blade carrying frame is in said lower position, and 7 means mounted to said pin assembly for moving said assembly between said lower and said upper posi tions whereby said lower vertically extending portion of said slot guides said assembly with frame and brace upwards clear of said engageable portion of said vehicle and said upper portion of said slot guides said assembly with frameand brace to an upper retracted position.

2. A snow plow wing comprising,

a tubular mounting member for fastening in a substantially vertical position to the side of a vehicle, said mounting member having a pair of oppositely positioned similarly shaped slots in the wall thereof, each said slot having a lower vertically extending portion and an upper portion extending angularly from the lower portion,

a blade carrying frame having at one end a bracket,

said frame having a forward and a rearward side,

a wing blade mounted on said blade carrying frame,

a pin assembly on said bracket including a pin extending through said slots and mounting said frame with blade to said mounting member for raising and lowering movement guided by said slot between a lower blade extended operating position and an upper blade retracted position,

a brace member mounted on the rearward side of said blade carrying frame and extending toward said vehicle, said brace having a supporting surface for engaging an extension of the frame of the vehicle when said assembly and frame are in said lower operating position, and

means mounted to said tubular mounting member and connected with said pin assembly for moving said assembly with frame and blade between said lower and said upper positions whereby said lower vertically extending portion of said slot guides said assembly with frame and blade upwards so that said brace clears the said extension and said upper portion of said slot guides said assembly with frame and blade to the upperblade retracted position.

3. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 2, in which said means mounted to said tubular mounting member is a hydraulically operated cylinder.

4. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 3, in which said cylinder is within said tubular mounting member.

5. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 4, and further including spring meansconnected between said blade carrying frame and said tubular member for biasing said frame in a downwardly direction to increase the surface engaging force in the operating position.

6. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 5, in which the spring means is a spring extending between a bracket on said blade carrying frame and said tubular member, and in which the position on the bracket is variable to adjust the spring force.

7. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 4, and further including release means to permit rearward movement of the lower surface engaging portion of said blade when said blade strikes an obstruction.

8. For use with a vehicle having a front mounted snow plow, a snow plow wing for mounting to the structure of the vehicle at the side thereof to extend the width of the path plowed by the vehicle, said snow plow wing comprising,

a tubular mounting member for fastening in a substantially vertical position to an extension of the vehicle structure at one side thereof, said mounting member having a pair of oppositely positioned, similiarly shaped slots in the wall thereof, each slot having a lower vertically extending portion and an upper portion extending angularly from the lower portion,

a blade carrying frame having at one end a bracket,

said frame having a forward and a rearward side,

a wing blade mounted on said blade carrying frame,

a pin assembly on said bracket including a pin extending through said slots and mountingsaid frame with blade to said mounting member for raising and lowering movement guided by said slot between a lower blade extended operating position and an upper blade retracted position,

a brace member of triangular shape mounted on the rearward side of said blade carrying frame and having one apex extending towards the vehicle with a supporting surface on one side thereof for engaging an extension of the vehicle structure when said blade is in the lower operating position, and

hydraulic cylinder means within said tubular member and connected with said pin assembly for moving said assembly with frame and blade between said lower and said upper positions, said lower vertically extending portion of each said slot' guides said assembly with frame and blade upwards to a position where said brace member is above said extension of said vehicle and said upper portion of each said slot guides said assembly with frame and blade in an upwardly directed rotating motion to position said assembly with frame and blade in the upper blade retracted position substantially parallel said vehicle. 

1. A snow plow wing comprising, a tubular mounting member for fastening in a substantially vertical position to the side of a vehicle, said mountIng member having in the wall thereof a slot with a lower vertically extending portion and an upper portion extending angularly therefrom, a blade carrying frame having at one end a bracket, said frame having a forward and a rearward side, a pin assembly on said bracket extending through said slot and mounting said frame to said mounting member for movement in a generally vertical direction guided by said slot between lower position and an upper position, a brace member of fixed orientation rigidly mounted to the rearward side of said blade carrying frame and extending towards an engageable portion of said vehicle and having a supporting surface for engaging said engageable portion of said vehicle when said blade carrying frame is in said lower position, and means mounted to said pin assembly for moving said assembly between said lower and said upper positions whereby said lower vertically extending portion of said slot guides said assembly with frame and brace upwards clear of said engageable portion of said vehicle and said upper portion of said slot guides said assembly with frame and brace to an upper retracted position.
 2. A snow plow wing comprising, a tubular mounting member for fastening in a substantially vertical position to the side of a vehicle, said mounting member having a pair of oppositely positioned similarly shaped slots in the wall thereof, each said slot having a lower vertically extending portion and an upper portion extending angularly from the lower portion, a blade carrying frame having at one end a bracket, said frame having a forward and a rearward side, a wing blade mounted on said blade carrying frame, a pin assembly on said bracket including a pin extending through said slots and mounting said frame with blade to said mounting member for raising and lowering movement guided by said slot between a lower blade extended operating position and an upper blade retracted position, a brace member mounted on the rearward side of said blade carrying frame and extending toward said vehicle, said brace having a supporting surface for engaging an extension of the frame of the vehicle when said assembly and frame are in said lower operating position, and means mounted to said tubular mounting member and connected with said pin assembly for moving said assembly with frame and blade between said lower and said upper positions whereby said lower vertically extending portion of said slot guides said assembly with frame and blade upwards so that said brace clears the said extension and said upper portion of said slot guides said assembly with frame and blade to the upper blade retracted position.
 3. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 2, in which said means mounted to said tubular mounting member is a hydraulically operated cylinder.
 4. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 3, in which said cylinder is within said tubular mounting member.
 5. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 4, and further including spring means connected between said blade carrying frame and said tubular member for biasing said frame in a downwardly direction to increase the surface engaging force in the operating position.
 6. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 5, in which the spring means is a spring extending between a bracket on said blade carrying frame and said tubular member, and in which the position on the bracket is variable to adjust the spring force.
 7. A snow plow wing as defined in claim 4, and further including release means to permit rearward movement of the lower surface engaging portion of said blade when said blade strikes an obstruction.
 8. For use with a vehicle having a front mounted snow plow, a snow plow wing for mounting to the structure of the vehicle at the side thereof to extend the width of the path plowed by the vehicle, said snow plow wing comprising, a tubular mounting member for fastening in a substantially vertical position to an extension of the vehicle structure at one side therEof, said mounting member having a pair of oppositely positioned, similiarly shaped slots in the wall thereof, each slot having a lower vertically extending portion and an upper portion extending angularly from the lower portion, a blade carrying frame having at one end a bracket, said frame having a forward and a rearward side, a wing blade mounted on said blade carrying frame, a pin assembly on said bracket including a pin extending through said slots and mounting said frame with blade to said mounting member for raising and lowering movement guided by said slot between a lower blade extended operating position and an upper blade retracted position, a brace member of triangular shape mounted on the rearward side of said blade carrying frame and having one apex extending towards the vehicle with a supporting surface on one side thereof for engaging an extension of the vehicle structure when said blade is in the lower operating position, and hydraulic cylinder means within said tubular member and connected with said pin assembly for moving said assembly with frame and blade between said lower and said upper positions, said lower vertically extending portion of each said slot guides said assembly with frame and blade upwards to a position where said brace member is above said extension of said vehicle and said upper portion of each said slot guides said assembly with frame and blade in an upwardly directed rotating motion to position said assembly with frame and blade in the upper blade retracted position substantially parallel said vehicle. 